Weather and Traffic

Weekend rain may finally dampen ultra-dry November

It’s the start of the dry season in South Florida, and it looks like Nature is taking that quite literally — only a few spotty showers have been recorded on the Southeast coast in November.

In this very wet year of 2012, It’s the first time since January that the first half of a month has been virtually rain-free.

A shower rolling in off the Atlantic did manage to squeeze out 0.11 of an inch of rain Wednesday at Palm Beach International Airport, the first measurable rain of the month. There was no mention of rain in Thursday’s forecast, so Part I of November will likely go into the books 2.38 inches below normal in rainfall.

Average precipitation in November is 5.55 inches, and the driest month occurred in 1970 when just 0.23 of an inch fell.

Another quarter of an inch is apparently headed for Palm Beach over the weekend, however. Starting Friday, a low pressure area is expected for form off Florida’s Northeast coast, bumping up rain chances to 20 percent, increasing to 30 percent on Saturday.

Graphical forecasts by the National Weather Service predict that up to 4 inches may fall just off the coast of the Carolinas as the storm winds up and churns toward the north.

Some forecast models have been hinting at subtropical development, but there is so far no mention of that possibility from the National Hurricane Center. In any event, a blustery holiday week is in store for the Mid-Atlantic States and possibly New England, with rain over the weekend, clouds hanging around through Thanksgiving, and windy conditions.

The Climate Prediction Center released its December forecast Thursday. The agency, an arm of the National Weather Service, is calling for above normal temperatures in the Southern U.S. from the Western Florida panhandle through Texas, Arizona and into Southern California. Below average temperatures are in the forecast for the northern tier of states from Montana east to Wisconsin.

The rest of the country, including South Florida, is up for grabs, according to forecasters, meaning there are equal chances for above or below temperatures. Early winter forecasts have predicted close to normal temperatures for Florida.

December precipitation looks like it may be close to average across the country, with the exception of a wet area in the Mississippi Valley northeast into Ohio and Western New York State.

In an average December, the Palm Beach area receives 3.14 inches of rain.

Temperature-wise, December can be a month of extremes. It’s been as hot as 90 (Dec. 5, 1941; and Dec. 9, 2009), and as cold as 24 degrees (Dec. 29, 1926).

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Residents and visitors to the northern tip of Australia were able to see a total eclipse of the sun on Wednesday. You can watch a video clip of the rare event on the NASA website by clicking here.